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"It looks like everyone is here. Let's not waste time, the sooner we start, the sooner we can return. Let's go!" a burly middle-aged man said before boarding a cart that had the letters MA written on the side.
Duncan hopped into the cart along with others without giving any response. Not that it looked like it was needed. Within moments, the cart set off from the Mercenary Association building at a brisk pace.
The mission Duncan had chosen was a hunting mission. To be precise, it was a daily mission that involved hunting wild beasts. According to his information, wild beasts were sought after in the city for their various parts.
Meat was one of the major goods that were needed by practically every restaurant and inn in the wealthy quarters. Apparently, the wealthy folk had a habit of consuming wild beasts as they provided good taste and ample energy to them.
Other parts like furs, claws, and teeth were also sought over by various craftsmen for their needs. Hence, a lucrative job had been created for daring men and women who put their lives on the line and killed these beasts.
The hunting job was one of the stable jobs for mercenaries available on the job board. However, it was not simple for any mercenary to obtain this job. As this was a regular job, there were already several teams in charge of fulfilling it on a regular basis.
Only when the demand is high during the festive season or for some other reason would the job quota increase providing opportunities to mercenaries. As the restaurants and craftsmen had regular teams that supplied them with their needs, they wouldn't sour relations with them by buying from someone else, unless under exceptional circumstances.
The only other way for a mercenary to get this job was if any of the members of an established team died or withdrew from the team for some reason. Luckily for Duncan, the job vacancy he saw was one of this kind.
Two of the previous members of the team he was currently traveling with had quit last week because they were going to get married to each other and wanted a stable life. So, the team was short on two people easily allowing Duncan to join.
Even then, he had to show the wolf teeth that he used as a necklace as proof of his abilities. Initially, the one who interviewed him for the job was skeptical of his ability to handle a wild beast.
Since the mission was a dangerous one and the team didn't want any freeloaders, the selection process was a bit vigorous. They only took people who had previously killed a wild beast or were well-known in the circle.
Showing proof of his kill solved this issue and Duncan had to exaggerate a bit about how he truly fought the wolf in a one-on-one situation. He didn't falsify the account but just fibbed enough to make them think that his killing the wolf was not an accident.
After convincing the team, Duncan joined them immediately as they set off to hunt beasts in the nearby area where the beasts usually roamed. Duncan had even made it clear earlier that as he still was a newbie despite killing a wolf, he will follow the team's instructions and will let them decide how they will use him.
This act of coming off as humble and knowing his place endeared him to the team a lot. The team surely didn't want someone to act arrogantly and put everyone in danger and him telling them that he will follow their lead eased a lot of tension and made the team let out a relieved sigh.
The same couldn't be said for the other member who joined alongside him. Mo Hong was what one would call an extremely arrogant and self-assured man. He acted as if he knew everything about hunting and often tried to make himself look important.
This particular behavior was rubbing the entire team the wrong way. There were seven members on the team in total including Mo Hong and Duncan. The leader, the burly middle-aged man, was called Ren Schimdt. He was a veteran hunter who had been in this business for years.
Apart from him, there was a duo of brothers Logan and Morgan Redcloud who were the exact opposite of each other. Logan was wiry and looked as if he could run circles around everyone else. Morgan, on the other hand, was muscular and looked as if he would split you into two.
Then came Leia, a cheerful and rambunctious woman, who Ren introduced as an expert in tracking and even capable of performing emergency medical aid in dire circumstances if anyone got injured. And she was also the only woman on the team currently. Apparently, her father used to be a herbalist and had taught her a lot about wounds and woodcraft.
Finally, the team was rounded up by an average-looking man who had bloodshot eyes. His face was covered in scars and he looked really fearsome. He looked the scariest amongst the entire team. Ren had informed Duncan that Qin Rong had truly pulled the team out of several dangerous situations.
Qin Rong's choice of weapon was a spear, while Morgan went with a greatsword. Logan used a bow and arrows and Leia used a short sword. Mo Hong used a mace in contrast. He could be seen boasting about his prowess with that occasionally.
Ren was like Duncan, preferring to use a sword. Only his was a single-edged sword. He also had a large net on his back. This way the team had a wide variety of weapons to use according to the situation. Duncan thought that the team was pretty well-rounded and was glad for it.
The total duration of the mission was estimated to last ten days. It was the usual cycle in which Ren's team operated. They hunted every other ten days barring any accidents and had kept up the routine for more than two years.
There was a large forest at the distance of day's travel on the cart. And it was the hunting ground for all the mercenaries in the city. With travel taking up to two days, the remaining eight days will be spent tracking wild beasts and hunting them.
Even with eight days of hunting, the team would be lucky to kill more than four animals if all went well. And there was also the problem of transporting the beasts that are hunted down. Due to their large size, it was hard to carry them for a long distance.
As a result, the area they would be able to cover in their hunt was really not much. Luckily, the members of MA could hire carts to take them to the edge of the forest for a discounted price. Usually, the carts don't venture into the forest. The driver would wait for the team for a fortnight before he would return to the city.
And having carts also allowed the mercenaries to hunt a good amount of prey if fortune favored them and transport them effortlessly. If not, they would need to haul the carcasses of the beasts to the city manually and it would waste a lot of time and energy.
Hiring a cart at Mercenary Association not only came with a discounted price for members, but it also helped them avoid them being robbed of their hunt by other unsavory characters. While the truly mad men would still create problems, a lot of sensible people will not hinder them much due to not wanting to draw the ire of MA.
After a long day of the journey, their cart reached the edge of the forest and dropped them off. Duncan alighted from the carriage and looked around to see that there were lots of people entering and exiting the forest. It clearly showed him how much activity happened in the forest.
When people saw them exiting from a cart with MA written on it, they cleverly made way for them and exchanged wary looks with each other. Duncan even saw some shifty-looking fellows lose interest in them after seeing their cart. He was sure that these men would create problems if not for the cart they alighted from.
"Well, let's get moving. I want us to reach our usual resting spot before night truly sets in. I don't fancy moving in the night with two new members," Ren said to the team causing others to nod.
Duncan took a deep breath and set off with others into the forest.
